


Scytale

by JackieSBlake7



Category: 1984 - George Orwell
Genre: Dystopia's end, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22146613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackieSBlake7/pseuds/JackieSBlake7
Summary: Some more scenes from the end of Airstrip One
Kudos: 4





	Scytale

The Proles were aware from information passed down from “the times before” that there had been long periods of peace, rather than the present “forever war” – and that when there had been wars “then” the enemy had usually remained the same during the period of conflict, and there were reasons, and usually an agreement at the end until next time. Now there was nothing but fluidity of enemies, and death and destruction, and official rations being reduced – which “could only go so far.” They were making plans, and they had their observers placed in the Ministries, and were able to acquire information and other resources. None of the Inner Party members paid much attention to those who kept the buildings running and provided services, and, when they thought about such things, assumed the lower grades of employers had the same views and usage of Newspeak and Ingsoc politics as themselves. That they might be doing more than “the usual minor pilfering” was not considered: items were rearranged to hide losses and the nature of Newspeak discouraged considerations of declining quality, or reflecting on the amount of substitution. 

****

During “the wars that changed everything” a system of allotments for the growing of food had been developed, and the Proles were still allowed to continue the activity under the Ingsoc regime – whether for their own use, or for selling to members of the Inner Party, who often had only a superficial knowledge of what was involved in the production and storage involved. The allotments were allocated semi-randomly so that neighbourhoods from the city and beyond could not form structured groups: that this might aid communications and organisation between different localities was not considered.

Occasionally the Inner Partyists graced the shows of produce, as did, more often, some of the Thought Police, usually to “help” in the judging processes. It was the norm to give up the prize specimens to show “due gratitude” for being allowed to hold these activities, and for the benefits provided by Big Brother. That such fruit and vegetables were grown for size and show rather than edibility was not obvious to the Partyists, who assumed that all the items on display and being exchanged were of a similar nature. The Partyists used their limited knowledge to “permit” minor quantities of official rations of delicacies being distributed as prizes, given the Proles’ seemingly bland tastes – but were somewhat subverted by the Prole supply lines. The Proles were often healthier and had a far wider diet than the members of the Outer Party and, to a varying extent, even the Inner Party.

There were also activities as hop picking, harvesting, and other “holidays” provided in the countryside and elsewhere at various times of the year. They were devised in part to prevent would-be Prole organisers from becoming nuclei of discontent within the cities, but which did not have the intended result, by providing training in organisation of groups of people. Nor was the name of the publication in which such activities were promoted and discussed fully understood – Scytale was taken to be a slightly corrupted form of the name for what had once been called a comet, and was assumed to refer to the journeys of the Proles involved. The “lucky lottery numbers” printed just below the masthead and some of the promoted “winning systems” for the lotteries also had a range of functions.

****

‘You think just because we are Proles we are stupid?’  
‘No, of course not. This #is# the plusgood chocolate bar, increased from twenty-five to twenty grams,’ the shopkeeper replied, feeling increasingly nervous. The official products – food and general goods – were getting smaller and the prices for them were rising. The decline in supplies from “the allotments” was also continuing, by somewhat more than “the usual seasonal variations” for reasons that were not explained.  
‘Does it taste plusgood?’ someone asked. They were willing to pay for quality and treats, could also understand there being changes over the course of the year, and a certain amount of inflation.  
‘It #costs# doubleplus to what it did.’ Murmurs of agreement.  
‘I am not making any money on it…’  
‘Prove it.’ The speaker-ringleader looked around. ‘I don’t know about you, mates – but prices go up and what we get gets less.’ Stronger expressions of agreement. The shopkeeper sensed the situation was getting out of control – and threatening to call the police would only make things worse.  
‘And there is less food in the shops generally – if you are not early, they run out.’ More agreement.  
‘You are welcome to try elsewhere…’ Let someone else take on the problem. The shopkeeper was weary of the constant impositions of “them above” and the equally constant complaints by the Proles.  
‘We will…’ the ringleader said.  
‘We’ve tried,’ one of the customers told the ringleader. ‘They all come up with the same excuses…’  
‘My cousin works in a shop – says the Partyists are hoarding everything…’  
More murmurs of agreement at this.  
‘That may well be so,’ the shopkeeper said, ‘but they don’t hoard it here.’ And most of the Outer Partyists who came to this shop were little better off in fact, rather than mere status, than many of the Proles.  
‘We know that.’  
The shopkeeper knew better than to respond to the slight.  
‘Let’s go and discuss how to get the Partyists to give up what they are keeping from us.’  
The group trooped out.  
As usual after such incidents the shopkeeper considered whether it was time to move on to other activities. The confrontations were getting increasingly frequent, and, from discussion with other shopkeepers were encountered almost across the range.  
What would happen when too many shopkeepers decided to transfer to less stressful work was not clear. And eventually the Proles would do more than just talk and protest.

A somewhat drab person entered the shop. The shopkeeper was somewhat wary – there had been several cases recently of official inspections against black-marketeering and other informal activities.  
‘What do you want?’  
‘I’m from the Allotment Society. What do **you** want?’’  
The shopkeeper took out the current copy of the Scytale and selected the relevant group of numbers for the occasion. ‘Show your details.’  
As soon as “the calculation to confirm validity” had been done they began negotiations. As on previous occasions with such people there was less on offer than there had been in equivalent seasons in previous years.  
‘The damage to the towns makes it more difficult to bring food here,’ the Allotment person said. ‘And Proles are moving out of the city so they have to be provided for locally.’  
‘And the Partyists don’t understand any of that – they want the same quantities at the same prices.’  
‘Things will change soon – and you will be given some advance warning.’  
‘Are there any opportunities for shopkeepers in places where the Proles move to?’ The shopkeeper was surprised at actually saying the words rather than merely thinking them.  
‘Yes – but it is not easy. You will have to get a sufficient deposit.’  
‘Any of the “prize goods” to sell? The Outer Partyists have a particular fondness for the little packets of ordinary spices at the moment.’ Rather than buying the ordinary containers at a fraction of the price. Not that the shopkeeper would complain, given the mark-up.

****

Few who used the “memory holes” in the Ingsoc buildings where they existed ever gave much consideration as to what happened to the papers thrown into them. Technical expertise was not given priority in selection for the Outer and Inner Parties, and the administrators were increasingly discouraged from thinking in ways other than as directed by the Party, let alone “thinking logically.” The technicians were following their own priorities – and if “the authorities” were prepared to pay significantly for what were in fact mostly simple jobs quickly done they would not be disabused.  
Most of the material was blank, or the writing was of no intrinsic value or repetitious. However even this could yield information to those so attuned.  
Then there were the endless reworkings of the official newspapers and records, telling a historical narrative of what officialdom presently claimed was history. That the persisting transformation of history might cause problems – the disparity between what was remembered as having been read and the present version, or divergent and composite interpretations, and internal inconsistencies in the records – was not considered but was, in practice, causing problems which were only likely to increase. In the long-ago-days someone had once said that those who forgot history were condemned to repeat it: those in the Party mostly did not have the knowledge, language or resources to get beyond the seemingly endless present where problems were perennially encountered but never properly resolved and Proles found ad hoc solutions. There was only an awareness that #nothing changed#, and eventually #something would.#   
There were also messages sent using the Scytale codes and other systems to those who went through the waste paper: the symbols did not attract the attention of any officials who encountered them.

Those “technical persons” who analysed what was being dis-remembered had a far greater understanding of what was going on than those of the Inner Party. They could also follow the declining quality of the paper used and of the increasingly limited and stratified language, with problems arising soon after Newspeak began emerging as a distinct language. The Proles working in the Ministries could also have a wider knowledge of what was going on, merely through observation as well as seemingly innocent questions, often repeated in various contexts as if they were as incapable of “proper thought” as some of the Partyists claimed, than some of the Party hierarchy – though in practice referring to the use of Newspeak. Information provided from this source, combined with that from the Memory Holes systems was collated and combined, and some details were published in a somewhat allusive format in the Scytale. Sometimes the “mnemonics and puzzles” provided clues as to how to read the “news” stories, which superficially appeared to contain much that was pap and gossip but which could yield other information when appropriately read.

****

The decline in food and other resources, in terms of both quantity and quality, was becoming increasingly evident to the members of the Outer Party – but, unlike the Proles their jobs were largely based in the cities – the Ministries, the Party and Officialdom in general were major employers. There was limited freedom of movement between jobs, and pay scales were such that living for the moment was the norm, regardless of “official policies” on unremembering and even short-term planning. They were also having to spend more time shopping – the quantities of goods were declining and the number of shops were seemingly decreasing.  
They were also subject to the constraints of the system behind the telescreens – not that these were as effective and all seeing as claimed. There were not the resources to monitor all the conversations and activities being pursued – much of which was mundane and repetitive, possibly had been with slight variations even down the millennia, whether or not listened to. Besides, as with other technology in Airstrip One, the telescreens were also suffering increasing problems – not least because those Proles employed in their construction were reacting to the promised benefits being forever in the future “when the war was won.” The Proles were also operating subtle forms of sabotage-by-indifference, working to the rules and the orders-as-given rather than what the authorities actually wanted: As in other contexts Newspeak was working, or being used, to their advantage.

****

The Inner Party was now facing a range of issues that were to them irresolvable. They were receiving too much information from their various sources – the telescreens as receivers, the Thought Police and other monitors, and the Spies. The younger ones often did not have the knowledge to analyse the information they gathered from the adults around them, and present what was necessary and relevant and the older were also becoming adept at reporting, withholding or presenting information about others when it was to their advantage, and used items that were “mere grumbling” to fill their quotas where necessary. The wrong topics were thus being given priority.  
There was also too little information – the impact of Newspeak was to reduce the information content of what was presented, and it created a mindset that could not ask the right questions. The capacity for Doublethink and to change lines of discussion in accordance with current policy meant that many topics were covered superficially at best and the necessary long-term developments were not pursued.

The authorities were also running out of resources for the wars – or even maintain the dwellings and food of the people they relied on to keep the system going. Nor were the people so enthusiastic about the constant victories announced – they were not reaping the benefits, and the announcements were repetitive to the point where they were ignored by the general populace. The endlessly repeated slogans were becoming as invisible as the other background detail of everyday life.

In London things long forgotten began to make themselves felt. The Victorians in the long-ago had constructed a sewerage system that had exceeded then necessary capacity. Now, after decades of use, and damage caused by wars and Steamers, the network started breaking down, even affecting the official buildings. The polluted Thames became increasingly unpleasant and specially high tides were rising: there was no barrier against the surges and floods that occurred, which caused damage. The coal-fuelled smogs of winter became increasingly frequent, unpleasant and lethal. The Ministry buildings were becoming unusable, and even the residence areas of the Inner Party members were being affected. There was a steady drift of Proles out of London, leading to irregular housing development, unaffected by planning laws – until those involved with Scytale discovered some plans for a post-war world written in the time of what at the time was called World War II.  
Policy documents began circulating round the Ministries. They had no official source but #had# to be officially authorised – otherwise why would they be within the Ministries – and their instructions were thereby to be obeyed. The net result was to set up satellite towns, enabling the movement of groups of people away from the areas of damage: transfer was presented a reward for appropriate behaviour, and there were opportunities for some to become members of the Outer Party and lead in such towns. That Newspeak was being used mainly for communicating with the centre rather than amongst the Proles-become-administrators was not apparent to those running the Ministries.

And then there was the Great Storm of… they were not quite certain what the official dating system was, causing much damage to what remained of London’s infrastructure – and IngSoc/Party administration on Airstrip One could do nothing – Big Brother #could not fail them# but was silent… and there was no alternative official leadership.   
Then the Scytale leaders made contact, suggested a plan for reconstruction that at least superficially made sense and which was promptly adopted. Only too late did the Partyists realise the significance of the language being used, including subordinate clauses and terminology which had limited meaning in Newspeak but which made sense in Prolespeak. Those who had been through Room 101 and its equivalents were often given non-jobs while their future was being decided – some were rehabilitated, often by being sent to postings far from London where their influence was marginal. The same was now done to the Partyists in general: the local administrators had only a basic knowledge of Newspeak and concentrated on what was practical.  
As far as the Partyists were concerned they were still in command, issuing instructions in properly defined and spoken Newspeak, to Proles who listened in awe and then acted. The Proles and others in turn treated the Partyists politely but with near total incomprehension: they had other priorities, and had to develop and maintain the infrastructure.  
Given that the authorities in Airstrip One were now effectively out of action the centre of authority for continuing the wars moved to Airstrip Two. From the reports that filtered back to those involved in the restoration of London and other damaged localities it appeared that Big Brother “whoever he actually was” had been included in the transfer – or possibly not. The fighting and destruction formerly visited upon Airstrip One did switch to that location, so something had changed.  
Much to the Partyists’ surprise the economic and social systems did not collapse with the withdrawal of the benevolence and control of Big Brother and the Ministries. They had planned for eventualities other than the one that did actually occur, and so did not make use of it – and did not have the language to adapt.

The witticism some of the Proles came up with as they developed the new society was that Big Brother and Ingsoc disappeared because they could not be defined in Newspeak.

**Author's Note:**

> The sewage system is the one put into place by the Metropolitan Board of Works – some of which was only being replaced in the early 21st century. 
> 
> In our world the Thames Barrier has prevented the possible flooding of London, and the Great Storm occurred in 1987 and caused much damage (when it occurs in the 1984 universe is another matter). 
> 
> The WWII plans were the Abercrombie Plans


End file.
